Mia Snow Speaks on Depression
Since publishing my capstone project on mental health among independent artists, new voices have continued to join the conversation. One of those voices is rising music artist Mia Snow, who recently shared her personal strategies for coping with depression on Instagram.
In her post, Snow told fans: “Depression can be hard sometimes but getting out the house and doing something active has always helped. Even though I’m a positive person, I still have my moments where I need to decompress and escape. One thing I love to do to clear my head is be by the water or just nature in general. It’s ok to be upset—just don’t dwell in it. Go take your mind off of it.”
Fans and commenters took to the post adding comments like, “👏🙏🏽 being able to recognize what you need and then providing that for yourself beautiful ❤️” says, king_14vl.
Another fan went on to say, “We All Deal With Tough Times & It Comes Randomly When We Least Expect It But The Main Part About It Us The People Tend To Constantly Ignore, Is The Fact We Always Battle It Out & Overcome It Every Time & Come Back 💯x More Focused, Wiser, Looking Better & Stronger ! 👀🫡👏🏿🙌🏿💪🏿🌹🫶🏿❄️💯🌟.” says kingdesinoga.
Comments and interactions like these is the prime example of why I chose to do my capstone project over independent artists and their mental health.
Seeing that my capstone also has undertones of systemic oppression and how even young artists begin their fight in primary school as clinical psychologist Chabani Manganyi (2019) argued in his work on the “wounded psyche,” artists’ struggles often extend beyond personal battles to broader social and cultural contexts. His contributions to society don’t go unnoticed seeing that the battles that artist face with their mental health are continuous and must not go unnoticed.
View this post on Instagram
Snow’s message resonated with her audience, earning over 200 likes and more than 25,700 video views. Her openness reflects a growing trend of independent artists using their platforms not just for music, but also to foster community around mental health and shared struggles.
This engagement underscores a larger theme explored in my project: that independent artists often turn to one another—and to their fans—for support when industry pressures and personal challenges intersect. Snow’s perspective highlights how coping strategies like connecting with nature can provide balance in a demanding creative career.
Snow falls in line with a plethora of independent artists who must fight to keep their mental health intact. From artists like Tamar Braxton and Arina Martin, building community and healthy mental health practices—as my capstone implies—is how we avoid losing artists like Amy Winehouse and Kurt Cobain (Nextex Blogs, 2021; Monmouth University, 2021).
When Snow returns to DFW, I plan to interview her in depth about her experiences, why she believes mental health is critical for independent artists, and how she hopes her openness can encourage others to prioritize their well-being.
